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HISTORICAL ADDRESS 



AND 



CELEBRATION 



AT 



WALTHAM. 



JULY 4, 1876. 



Historical Address 



DELIVERED REFORE THE 



CITIZENS OF WALTHAM 



July 4, 1876, 



i^' 



JOSIAH RUTTER. 



With an Account of the Celebration of the Day. 



1877. 



13^,^ 






WALTIIAM: 

WALTHAM FREE PRESS OFFICE. ' * 

1877. 



PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION. 



On the 25th of May, 1876, the President of tlie United States 
issued the following Proclamation: — 

Whereas, a joint resohition of the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives of the United States was duly approved on the 13th day of March 
last, which resolution is as follows : 

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Bepresentatives of the United 
States, in Congress assembled : 

"That it be and is hereby recommended by the Senate and House of 
Representatives to th(i people of the several States, that they assemble 
in tlieir several counties or towns, on the approachins: centennial an- 
niversary of our national independence; and that they cause to have 
delivered on such day an histoiical slvetch of said county or town fi-om 
its formation; and that a copj' of said sketch may be filed, in print or 
manuscript, in the clerlv's office of said county, and an additional copy 
in print or manuscript, be filed in the office of tlie librarian of Con- 
gress, to the intent tliat a complete record may thus be obtained of the 
progress of our institutions during the first centennial of their existence." 

Whereas, It is deemed proper that such recommendation be brought 
to the notice and knowledge of the people of the United States, 

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, 
do hereby declare and make known the same, in the hope that the ob- 
ject of such resolution may meet the approval of the people of the 
United States, and that proper steps may be taken to carry the same 
into effect. 

Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 25th of May, in 
the year of our Lord 1876, and of the independence of the United States 
the one hundredth. U. S. GRANT 

By the President. 

Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State. 




At a town meeting held Marcli 19, 1877, it wns — 

Voted, That (lie Selectmen be directed to cause to be pnblislied in 
proper form and in numbers accordin<r to tlieir judgment a sketch of 
the Centennial exercises of July 4th, 1876, including the Historical Ad- 
dress of Josiah Eutter, Esq. 



E. B. ARMSTRONG, 
TIMOTHY LEARY, 
CHAS. IT. BILL, 
B. C. BATCIIELDER, 
L. S. FOSTER. 



1 



Selectmen. 



ORATION. 



In the Spring of 1630 there would seem to have 
been quite a fever in the mother country for emigra- 
tion to America. In the course of a few weeks seven- 
teen vessels sailed from different ports on the English 
coast, bringing over some prominent men, such as Gov. 
Winthrop, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Henry Bright and 
others. A number of these had made Salem their des- 
tination and there they lauded. Not, however, feeling 
satisfied with the place, they in the course of a few days 
removed to Charlestown. Here again they were disap- 
pointed, and going up Charles Iliver about four miles 
they finally selected as a permanent location, a spot to 
which with other territory was afterwards given the 
name of Watertown. Here with Sir Richard Saltonstall 
as their leader, and the Rev. George Phillips as their 



Pastor, they established a home and formed a church, 
the covenant of membership having been signed by 
forty men, most of them heads of families. 

As originally established and chartered Watertown 
included what is now embraced in the towns of Weston, 
Waltham, Watertown and part of Lincoln. And so it 
remained for nearly a hundred years. In 1713, Weston 
became a separate town. From this time what was af- 
terward set off as Waltham, was known as the West 
Precinct of Watertown, an ecclesiastical rather than a 
municipal designation. In 172(^ a church was formed, 
and soon after a meeting-house was erected on the spot 
near the Lyman mansion, where afterwards a more com- 
modious house was built which remained until 1840. 
During the one hundred and twenty years, from 1720 
to 1840, there were but three Pastors of this society, 
the Rev. Warham Williams officiating from 1720 to 
1752 ; the Rev. Jacob Gushing from 1752 to 1809 ; and 
the Rev. Samuel Ripley from 1809 to 1840. 

In 1738, Waltham was incorporated as a town. It 
is remarkable that we do not find on some of the records 
some intimation of the origin of the name given to our 
town. We know that various meetings were held in 
the West Precinct in reference to the change, that for- 
mal notice of the intended application was served upon 
the town of Watertown, and that a petition was present- 



ed to the General Court asking for its incorporation. But 
in none of these is found any suggestion of the name 
intended to be given to the new town. The probability 
is that it was proposed by some one of the inhabitants 
who came from the vicinity of Waltham Abbey, in Es- 
sex County, England. Waltham gained about six hun- 
dred acres of territory by annexation from Newton in 
1849, and lost on its northeast corner by the incorpora- 
tion of Belmont in 1859. 

It may seem strange that from the time of the incor- 
poration of the new town, for a good number of years so 
little should have occurred within its borders to become 
matter of history. And yet it is not wanting a satis- 
factory explanation. The territory of Waltham had 
always been a sort of middle or border land between 
two well known and thrifty towns. And this continued 
to be its character long after the establishment of the 
new town. The inhabitants were a farming community, 
occupying the rich and productive lands in the northerly 
section of the town, in preference to those nearer the 
river which were of an inferior quality. It was a town 
that had no centralit^ . The Post-Office, after one was 
established, was in the vicinity of Beaver Brook where 
there was a public house and a store ; and there was 
also a public house and store at the extreme west end 
of the town. And thus it continued until the Boston 



8 

Manufacturing Company, in 1813, commenced opera- 
tions attracting to their own location the business and 
population, and giving to the town a business centre. 

Thus it happens that from 1738 to 1775 we hear in 
history but little of Waltham. But we are not to infer 
from this that her people took no interest or had no part 
in the stirring events of that busy period. During those 
forty years, to say nothing of the battles with Ihe In- 
dians, the most imi3ortant engagements of the French 
war occurred. Within a period of fifty years, war be- 
tween France and England had been three times pro- 
claimed and peace three times declared. Every fresh 
declaration of war involved a fresh warfare between the 
French and English possessions in America. Besides 
the troubles between England and France, Massachu- 
setts had grievances of its own against the French colo- 
nies which required her attention. France held the 
island of Cape Breton upon which was the strongly 
built fortress of Louisburg. From this were sent out 
privateers to prey upon the fisheries and commerce of 
New England. In 1744, an expedition consisting of 
four thousand men was fitted out for the capture of 
this stronghold. The expedition with the aid of the 
British fleet proved successful, and Louisburg was cap- 
tured. In 1754, Massachusetts, aided to some extent 
by the other colonies and by England, conquered Nova 



9 

Scotia and Canada. These expeditions to the Canadas 
were voluntary acts of the soldiery of Massachusetts. 
Yet no warfare in this country has ever involved a 
greater amount of privation and suffering. The march 
from Massachusetts to the Canadian frontier was enough 
to deter the most hardy from the adventure. A good 
part of the distance they were to travel through an un- 
broken wilderness, thick, gloomy, dark, repulsive enough 
to drive the wild beast of the forest back despairing to 
his den. Yet all these trials and sufferings they will- 
ingly endured as loyal subjects of England. And when 
the war was closed and peace was again declared be- 
tween France and England, they laid down their cap- 
tured possessions, the Canadas, Nova Scotia and Cape 
Breton, as a brilliant prize at the foot of the British 
throne. And yet within ten years from that time 
England commenced and continued that series of usur- 
pations and wrongs which finally forced the colonies on 
the 4th of July, 1776, to declare themselves free and 
independent, forever absolved from all allegiance to the 
crown of England. We have no means of knowing what 
number of soldiers went from Waltham or any other 
town on these expeditions to Canada. It was a volun- 
tary service requiring no municipal action. But from 
the fact, as we shall see in connection with another sub- 
ject, that Waltham appropriated money for the payment 



10 

of the soldiers who were engaged, we shall be satisfied 
that Waltham did her portion of the service. 

It would be expected that with 1775 would com- 
mence a period when we should meet with some items 
of historical interest in connection with our town. The 
remarks made in partial explanation of the comparative 
silence of our records in reference to the French and 
Indian wars, will apply here also. It would seem to 
have been a town always ready to discharge every duty 
which fell to its lot, but composed of a people not easily 
excited and requiring, it may be, some outside influence 
fully to develop the sentiment of patriotism or a sense 
of the wrongs inflicted upon the country. They were 
evidently a cautious, considerate yet determined race of 
men. The battle of Lexington and Concord was fought 
on the 19th of April, 1775. Yet although there Avere 
frequent town meetings about that date, both before 
and after, we find no mention of that event. It is prob- 
able, however, that the act of the Selectmen under the 
date of May 13, 1775, was caused by the battle, and 
that was in these words : 

"May 13, 1775, the Selectmen delivered out to the 
soldiers, whose names are hereafter given, a good blanket 
agreeable to recommendation of the Provincial Congress, 
they being enlisted in the service of Massachusetts for 
the defence of the liberties of America." 

Then follow forty-five names headed by the name of 



11 

Eliphalet Hastings, probably forming the Company 

which went to Bunker Hill a few weeks after. 

The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought June 17, 1775. 

Yet our records show no reference to this battle until 

nearly a year after, June 11, 1776, when we find the 

following entry : 

"At a meeting of the Selectmen, June 11, 1776, they 
ordered the Treasurer to pay Josiah Wyer for a bayonet 
which was lost in the engagement on Bunker Hill by 
Eliphalet Hastings." 

But yet we find enough to assure us that the people 
of Waltham were in full accord with the popular senti- 
ment of the times. I have said they were a cautious, 
considerate, conservative race of men. Down to a very 
late period the people of the colonies had had no occa- 
sion to find fault with the British government. They 
had not sought independence. They were no unwilling 
subjects of Great Britain. They had fought under her 
flag side by side with their English brethren, and under 
commanders appointed by the king. And when con- 
quest followed victory, they laid down the prize, even 
though it were a continent, a free offering to their royal 
master. But yet, when wrong, or insult, or oppression 
came, bravely though still cautiously they set their 
houses in order for resistance. 

The various Stamp acts were passed from 1765 to 
1771. The colonies resisted their execution. England 



12 

threatened force and sent an army to Boston for that 
purpose. In August, 1774, a convention of the towns 
of Middlesex County was held at Concord to take coun- 
sel together. Waltham was represented, and at a town 
meeting held September 30th, the action of the conven- 
tion was approved and the following vote was passed. 
It will be observed that it was couched in very cautious 
language. And well it might be, for a step further 
would have meant treason: 

"Voted and chose a committee for other towns to send 
to on any emergency, and they to send to other 
towns on any emergency." 

"At a meeting lield June 9, 1775, the question was 
put, to know the minds of the town whether they will 
be prepared and stand ready equipped as Minute men? 
And the town answered in the aftiimative." 

"At a meeting held June 25, 1776, it was voted to 
procure money and pay each non-commissioned oflicerand 
soldier who shall enlist for the town's proportion in the 
present expedition to Canada — six pounds, six shillings 
and eight pence on their passing muster" 

At a meeting held May 27, 1776, and called for this 
purpose — 

"The question being put to know the mind of the 
town whether they will advise their Representative that 
if the Hon. Cons-ress should for the safety of the united 
colonies declare them independent of the kingdom of 
Great Britain, they, the said inhabitants, will solemnly 
agree with their lives and fortunes to support them in 
the measure ; and it passed in the affirmative." 



13 

A committee of the town, after a long and laborious 
investigation, on the 16th of October, 1778, made their 
Report to the Town showing sundry amounts due to dif- 
ferent inhabitants for military service, or for money con- 
tributed for the support of the soldiers during the Rev- 
olutionary and Canadian wars. One would judge, from 
the long list of names, that it must include every adult 
male inhabitant, and shows that the people must have 
responded liberally to every military requisition. The 
whole amount ordered to be paid was over .£3,300. 
The first company of soldiers named in the Report is 
that of the eight months men, so called, containing thirty 
names, with that of Col. Jonathan Brewer at its head. 
Col. Brewer commanded a regiment at Bunker Hill and 
he undoubtedly had with him his Waltham Company. 
He was brought home wounded at midnight and his 
wounds were dressed by Dr. Marshall Spring. He must 
have been a prominent and influential man, for we find 
in George Bancroft's History, that the Provincial Con- 
gress at Watertown received from Col. Jonathan Brewer 
of Waltham, a proposition to raise five hundred men for 
an expedition to Quebec. He kept a public house at 
the corner of Main and Gore streets, opposite Warren 
street. 

The war of 1812, it is well remembered by many now 
living, was unpopular in New England and particularly 



14 

in INIassachusetts. It was thought to be an attack upon 
our commerce, and it was believed that it would drive 
our mercantile marine from the waters of the world. 
Some opposition was felt and manifested here as well as 
in most important places in New England. But yet the 
records show that every requisition of men and money 
was promptly met, and that in addition to the compen- 
sation paid by the government, the town generously re- 
warded its own soldiers. 

On the 12th of April, 1861, an attack was made on 
Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Caro- 
lina, by an army of ten thousand organized rebels, pre- 
pared with all the appliances of modern warfare for the 
reduction of a fortified position. The people of New 
England, of the entire North, and here as much as any- 
where, were aroused beyond measure of description. 
All party feeling was lost. There prevailed but one 
common feeling of resentment and a determination at 
whatever hazard, to preserve the Union and to maintain 
the authority of the government. A meeting of the cit- 
izens was called, at which resolutions were passed call- 
ing upon the town for immediate action. At a meeting 
of the town held for the purpose on the 26th of April, 
it was voted to provide each soldier with a uniform, to 
pay him ten dollars a month for five months' service, and 
during his absence to make provision for the support of 



15 

his family. Every call made during the war for men 
or means was promptly met by the authorities. The 
town expended for war purposes 895,000, of which 
$42,000 was repaid by the State, and sent to the war 
seven hundred men. Of these, fifty-three were killed in 
battle or died from disease contracted in the service. 
Their names, are, we trust, imperishably engraven on 
yonder monument, to remind our children and our chil- 
dren's children to the latest posterity, of their names, and 
of the cause in which they died. It is meet, it is proper, 
it is a duty that the town should hold their memories in 
grateful remembrance, for it is to their eftbrts and to 
those of their comrades in arms, that we are indebted 
that to-day we have a country, untrodden by the foot 
of the slave, with the flag of the Union still floating over 
our heads. 

The Rumford Institute should not be forgotten in 
anything purporting to be a history of VValtham. It has 
been to the town, emphatically, an institution of learn- 
ing. It was established fifty years ago under the aus- 
pices of the Manufacturing Company, and antedates 
every institution of the kind in the State, and we be- 
lieve in the country. The Company provided the hall for 
its exercises and also gave it the income of the hall when 
let for other purposes. In this way they had a fund for 
the increase of their library, which accumulated to some 



16 

thousands of volumes, and on the establishment of the 
public library, in 18G5, was given to the town. 

At the commencement of the century, there were two 
school houses in the town. We now have twelve houses 
containing thirty-two schools of the various grades, with 
thirty-nine teachers. The average daily attendance upon 
the schools is about 1,500. The appropriation for schools 
in 1875 was $34,171.00. 

The total valuation of the town of Waltham for 1875 
was $10,131,770.00 The entire debt at the close of 
the last year was $497,350.00, of which $260,000 is for 
the water loan. The estimated value of property be- 
longing to the town is $681,900.00. 

The population of Waltham in 1775 was about 800. 
Its increase down to the time when manufacturing com- 
menced here, had been but little. In 1830, the popu- 
lation was about 2,500. It is now about 10,000. 

The Boston Manufacturing Company commenced 
their works in Waltham in 1 813. For many years it was 
the most notable manufacturing town in the State. It was 
of sufficient importance to induce a visit from Henry Clay, 
the great orator and statesman of the West. Tlie 
original capital was $100,000. Paul Moody was the 
first agent, and Francis C. Lowell was the first treasurer, 
who is said to have been the inventor of the power loom. 
In 1820 the Bleachery was established, turning out 



17 

about one ton of goods per day. In 1868 the Hosiery 
Works were started, which now turn out about 5000 
dozens of their goods per week. At the present time 
the capital of the company is $800,000. They have 
40,000 spindles, turning out 45,000 lbs. of goods per 
week. The Bleachery now daily finishes up 15 tons. 
Their cotton goods have sold at different periods as fol- 
lows: from 1813 to 1816 at 30 cents per yard ; in 1819 
at 21 cents; in 1826 at 13 cents ; in 1829 at 8 1-2 cents j 
and 1876 at 8 1-2 cents. 

The town of Waltham is much indebted to the Boston 
Manufacturing Company, not only for the business char- 
acter it gives the place, but for its uniformly liberal 
treatment of the town. There was never any feeling of 
antagonism between the two. Lest the establishment 
might seem to be a burden to the town, the company 
for a long period provided a school-house and teacher 
for the district. The town and the company always 
worked together in harmony. It ought not to be for- 
gotten on an occasion like the present that for much of 
this we are indebted to two men, now deceased, who for 
a long period had charge of the works here. Both of 
them were men of culture and refinement, with a dignity 
of demeanor which secured respect, and a geniality of 
disposition which won confidence and esteem. They 
felt a warm interest in the welfare and prosperity of 



IS 

the town, and as occasion allowed, exerted an influence 
in its favor. Whenever as citizens of Walthani we are 
counting up the men and the events which have helped 
to make her what she is, our minds will not fail to rest 
upon the manly forms, the gentle bearing, the clear in- 
telligence, and the practical sagacity of Ebenezer Ilobbs 
and Isaac W. Mulliken. 

Nothing has of late occurred in VValtham to give such 
an impulse to its prosperity and the increase of its pop- 
ulation, as the establishment of the American Watch 
Company here, about 1857. Tliese works, originally 
founded in 1854, have been a marked success. Other 
factories have since been established, but they must all 
look back to this as their origin and model. They em- 
ploy about 1000 hands and put out about 300 watches 
daily. The section of the town in which they are lo- 
cated has been built up almost entirely by them or on 
account of the vicinity of their works. The great suc- 
cess of this establishment is due to the energy, perse- 
verance, and executive ability of its business manager, 
Royal E. Robbins. 

We have another industrial establishment rapidly 
growing in importance and extent. Our Iron Foundry 
has become well known through the country, and par- 
ticularly in the west for its manufacture of gas pipe and 
water pipe and gas machinery. The facilities for cxten- 



19 

sion possessed by the company are such as induce the 
belief that it is to become the leading establishment of 
the kind in our vicinity. 

The Bank, now known as the Waltham National 
Bank, was established in 1835. It now has a capital of 
$150,000. The Waltham Saving Bank has deposits 
amounting to over $1,200,000. In 1856 the Waltham 
Sentinel was establisned by Josiah Hastings ; in 1863 
the Waltham Free Press, by George Phinney. Both 
papers are still conducted by their original proprietors. 

Did time admit there are many other important in- 
dustrial interests to which I would gladly refer. 

We commenced the century now brought to a close 
with one church and one meeting-house supported by 
force of public authority. We have now eight churches 
answering to the different constitutional tendencies of 
the human mind, with houses of worship combining every 
element of beauty, taste and convenience, each sustained 
by the free contributions of its respective members. We 
began with means for the education of the young, limit- 
ed in character and extent. We enter upon a new cen- 
tury with the ability to offer to the poorest of our chil- 
dren, instruction in all the higher departments of human 
learning. Commencing the century with a town with- 
out a business centre, before the half of that century 
had elapsed it had become an important business centre 



20 

and market for a large surrounding territory. Fifty 
years ago, a daily stage to Boston, run by men still liv- 
ing among us, placed us far in advance of all our neigh- 
bors. Now every half hour of the day, a half hour's ride 
in a car, for comfort and convenience rivalling the most 
luxurious domestic accommodations, brings us to the 
gates of the city. We have a public library of 8,000 
volumes, three printing offices, and two newspapers. A 
well organized fire department, furnished with steam 
appliances and having the river for an exhaustless reser- 
voir, protects, so far as human agency can do so, against 
the most resistless of the elements. A century ago we 
had a population of farmers, with probably a single rep- 
resentation of each of the common mechanical trades. 
We close up the century with extensive manufticturing 
establishments, in cotton and wool, and iron and brass, 
and silver and gold, giving employment to thousands of 
our inhabitants and affording support to more than one- 
half our entire population. Our fathers sent to England 
or France for a time keeper of the simplest construction. 
We have now in our midst a factory employing a thou- 
sand hands and turning out daily three hundred watches, 
which have the reputation of being the best timekeepers 
in the world, and finding a market on both sides of the 
Atlantic. Our town has the credit of introducing the 
first power loom in America, and of establishing the 



21 

first watch manufactory in the world. We have given 
to the State two governors, two Representatives to the 
National Congress and one Speaker of the National 
House of Representatives. Instead of the tallow candle 
of 1775, our steeets and our dwellings are lighted by 
gas. Our houses and stables are supplied with water 
from a fountain exhaustless as the ocean, fresh and pure 
as the mountain lake. Photography, steam, the railroad 
and the telegraph have accomplished all imaginable pos- 
sibilities of improvement in their respective spheres, 
leaving us only to wonder what of the undiscovered and 
unknown can be yet left in the bosom of the future, bye 
and bye to burst upon the astonished vision of another 
generation. 



CELEBRATION OE THE DAY. 



At some preliminary meetings of tlie citizens of Waltliam 
for the pnrpose of taking measures to commemorate the cen- 
tennial anniversary of national independence in accordance 
with the President's proclamation, a general committee of 
ladies and gentlemen was appointed to make the appropriate 
arrangements. The first meeting of the committee was held 
on Wednesday evening, June 21st, at the Reform Club Rooms, 
and was called to order by Mr. Alden Jameson, the chair- 
man, who in a brief address stated the ol)ject of the commit- 
tee and the nobility of its work. The committee was j)er- 
manently organized by the choice of Dr. Edward Worcester 
as chairman, and L. H. Weeks as secretary. 

Various sub-committees were chosen with reference to 
special parts in the order of exercises for the day. The dif- 
ferent committees to which were assigned the details of the 
celebration were as follows: 

COMMITTEE ON ORATION AND 

COMMEMORATIVE EXERCISES. 

S. O. ITpham, Nathan Warren, 

B. B. Johnson, Rev. J. C. Parsons, 

Laroy Browne. 



24 



COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. 

Francis Buttrick, Luiiian N. Hall, 

Tiniotliy Leary, L. C. Lane, 

S. O. Upliam, J. W. Fairbanks, 

Alden Jameson, Geo. B. Williams, 

E. AV. Fiske, Zenas Parmenter, 

Thos. B. Smith, Wm. A Eoherts. 



COMMITTEE ON DECOKATION. 

Mrs. Chas Johnson, Mrs. E. L. Burnham, 

" Anna Eddy, " H. F. Warren, 

" Alvin Bolton, J. Fred Moore, 

" Alonzo Bowers, E. L. Barry, 

" Charles Clark, Geo. Osgood, 

Miss Josej^hiiie M. Jameson, Geo. A. Flagg. 



COMMITTEE ON PROCESSION. 

Wm. Locke, Ephraim Stearns, 

L. C. Lane, 11. C. Hall, 

J. J. Harvey, E. W. Lane, 

John Haynes, II. N. Fislier, 

J. T. Prince. 



COMMITTEE ON IIOUIIS OF PROGRAMME. 

Wm. Locke, Alden Jameson, 

B. B. Johnson, N. Warren, 

L. N. Hall. 



25 

COMMITTEE ON SALUTES. 

Francis Buttrick, Rufns Warren, 

C. H. Bill, Alden Jameson, 

Timothy Leary, Wm. Locke, 

L. C. Lane. 



COMMITTEE ON REGATTA AND 

AQUATIC SPORTS. 

Wm. Gibl.s, J. G. Miller, 

H. P. Bartlctt, E. L. Barry, 

J. J. Harvey. 



COMMITTEE ON ATHLETIC SPORTS. 

T. J Barton, B. B. Jolmson, 

A- M. Ryan, G. Frank Frost, 

, Edsrar Emerson. 



COMMITTEE ON MUSIC AND SINGING. 

J. W. Colby, Miss Charlotte Farwell. 

J. W. Fairbanks, " M. J. Miles. 

Rev. J. C. Parsons. 



COMMITTEE ON FIREWORKS. 

Dr. E. Worcester, Rufns Warren, 

T. P. Smitli, . Nathan Warren. 



26 

The chairmen of tlie several committees were ex officio an 
Executive Committee. 

After subsequent meetings of the committee the following 
Programme was arranged : 

National salutes and ringing of church bells at sunrise, 
noon and sunset. 

Religious services at 8 A. M. 

Grand military and civic procession at 9 A. M. 

Commemorative exercises at 10^ A. M. 

Regatta and aquatic sports at 2 P. M. 

Athletic sports at 4 P. M. 

Children's concert at 6 P. M. 

Fireworks in the evening. 

A large tent was erected on the Common, and Rumford. 
Hall was kept open during the day for the convenience and 
pleasure of the public, especially the younger portion, while 
a band of music was in constant attendance, and an oppor- 
tunity afforded for dancing. 

Early in the morning a procession of Antiques and Horri- 
bles under the Marshalship of H. C. Hall, paraded through 
the streets. 

The religious services took place in the tent at the Com- 
mon, and were conducted by the Clergymen of the town in 
the following order : 

Invocation and reading Scriptures, by Rev. Benton Smith. 

Hymn. 

Prayer, by Rev. W. W. Colburn, 

Remarks, by Rev. E. C. Guild. 

Hymn. 

Remarks, by Rev. F. I). Bland. 

Hymn. 

Prayer, Ijy Rev. E. E. Strong. 

Benediction. 



27 

Services were also held at the Episcopal church, conducted 
by tiie Rector, Rev. T. F. Fales, and at the Catholic church 
Hig-h Mass was held at 6 o'clock in the morning, by the 
Rev. Bernard Flood. 

The grand military and civic procession formed on Main 
street, opposite the Common, and marched through the prin- 
cipal streets under the charge of Major L. C. Lane, as Chief 
Marshal, with A. W. Sherman, Wm. Gibbs,Ephraim Stearns, 
John Handrahan and Thomas Miles as aids. 

It was composed of Company F, 5th Regiment, M. V. M., 
Capt. Laroy Browne ; the Firemen and Ex-firemen ; Grand 
Army Post ; Emmet Literary Association ; Mutual Relief 
Societies ; Ancient Order of Hibernians ; Reform Club ; 
other societies and organizations ; Drum Corps ; carriages con- 
taining young ladies representing the several States, and others 
dressed in tlie costumes of the olden time, and representa- 
tives of trades and professions. It made a display eminently 
worthy of the town and the occasion, and formed an attrac- 
tive feature of the day. 

The Commemorative exercises were held in the tent and 
were attended by a large assemblage of our citizens. 
They were arranged and conducted as follows : 

Singing — by a chorus from the several choirs in town — 
"The Star Spangled Banner." 

Prayer, by Rev. T. F. Fales. 

Singing — "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean." 

Reading of the Declaration of Independence, by Albert C. 
Reed. 

Singing — Whittier's "Centennial Hymn." 

Historical Address, by Josiah Rutter, Esq. 

Singing — "America" — by the whole audience. 



28 

Tlie Regatta ami A(iuatic sports took i)lacc iqwa the river 
and consisted of boat and tub races. 

The Athletic sports were of various kinds and came olFoii 
the Common. 

The Children's Concert took place in the tent on the 
Common. The singing was by several hundred children 
from the pulilic schools under the leadership of Mr. L. B. 
Marshall. This was a beautiful and spirited feature of the 
celebration, and furnished a fitting close for the public exer- 
cises. 

Among the pieces sung was the following original Hymn, 
composed for this occasion by Mr. Geo. Phinncy : 

WALTHAM CENTENNIAL FOURTlf 
OF JULY HYMN. 

A hundred years have come and gone 
And left their impress o'er our land 

Since first the Nation's right was won 
Among the powers of earth to stand. 

As backward turns the quest'ning glance 
And scans the bright historic page, 

The nodding plume and glistening lance 
Mark the fierce conflicts of the age. 

We read of gallant deeds and brave, 
Inspired l»y love that ])atriots feel 

Who count their lives but naught, to save 
Their country's honor and its weal. 

Ah, not in vain a hundred years 

Have rained their golden blessings down, 

If we as well our places fill 

As sires we with our homage crown. 



29 

The National salutes were fired by a dctaclimeut of 
Baxter's Battery, and the church bells were rung at sunrise, 
noon, and sunset. In the evening a fine display of fireworks 
with music was given on the Common. 

The martial music for the day was furnished by the Wal- 
tham Band, the orchestral music for the hall and singing by 
Hull's Quadrille Band. 

In concluding this brief and official account of the cele- 
bration of the one hundredth anniversary of our National 
Independence, it may not be inappropriate to refer to the 
successful character of all the proceedings, and tlie pleasure 
and satisfaction they afforded the people. The arrange- 
ments for the celebration were made and carried out by the 
citizens, and all expenses were paid by voluntary 
subscriptions. The total expenses were $671. The 
townspeople generally entered heartily into tlie spirit of the 
occasion and took an active part in the recognition of the 
day. No accident or unhappy occurrence of any kind served 
to mar the festivities. 

Among the many decorations of residences and build- 
ings, those of Rumford Hall deserve more than passing 
notice. The interior of the Hall was most tastefully and 
beautifully trimmed and decorated by the ladies with flags, 
flowers and emblems, and presented a spectacle of artistic 
beauty and patriotic design. Besides the decorations were 
many articles of antiquity and historical association contribu- 
ted for exhibition by individuals. The committee of ladies 
were in attendance and served to make the social features 
of the celebration one of the most successful and enjoyable. 
In all the proceedings of the celebration of the day Waltham 
may record with patriotic pride the part it took in the 
commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the in- 
dependence of our country. 





WALTHAM SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. 



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